I have heard some discussion about Libson Bottoms on this site and it sounds like a place I need to know more about since this is all new to me.  Could somebody out there fill me in?  What to expect, where is it located, etc.  Thanks for the help.

One of the dispatches I sent out last year prior to the race covered this fairly well.

http://rivermiles.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1213678099/0#0

I believe it's dispatch #6  or #5 one of those.  Heck, read them all.  Good information.

Don't fear the Lisbon Bottoms.  Except in the dark.

scott it's number 6 but the link to the map page no longer goes to lisbon bottoms (at least on my computer it doesn't. )

You can also google "Lisbon, MO" zoom out a little (look left) and WALLA!

The problem is really at the entrance to the chute.  If you zoom in to the entrance you see some rock structure that makes for some turbulent water.  Significant drops at most water levels.  In the dark, folks sometimes get confused that this is the right way to go and it rarely works.   Note the barge near the chute entrance... these are BIG cuts in the rock dikes.  And at night, you hear the water roaring through.  And if you're paddling along that edge... well, it might be tough not to go in there.

Other folks have gotten confused by some of the bigger wing dikes on the opposite shore and ended up paddling behind them, disoriented in some shallow, sucking muck.

If you study it a little and know what to expect... and stay in the middle.... everything works out fine.   Or, if the sun is up... it's easier.


Link: <http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=lisbon,+mo&sll=38.00...;